This new Compact Overlay feature is available in the latest preview build of Windows released under the Insider Program, build 15031, and is expected to be pushed out to all Windows users with the free Creators Update in April 2017. Microsoft says it will be taking advantage of the feature in future releases of its Movies & TV and Skype Preview apps.

Microsoft also revealed a sneak peek at what is expected to be the next major change in Windows design, known as Project Neon, believed to be heading to Windows as part of an update in Fall this year.

During the livestream for the Windows Developer Day event yesterday, showed the slide below, captured by Windows Central, which offered a glimpse at Project Neon design in the background.

Image: Microsoft / Windows Central

The tweaks to the design are expected to introduce animations and effects that echo those used in the Aero Glass design found in Windows Vista and Windows 7.

One new feature is rumored to be Acrylic, which will blur the background, sidebar or nav for apps, depending on how a Universal Windows App is being used.

The Project Neon design is expected to be rolled out to Windows 10 in Fall of this year.

Away from design, another new feature in the most recent Insider preview build, and due to land with the Creators Update in April, is Dynamic Lock. This feature automatically locks a Windows 10 PC when the user leaves the machine for more than 30 seconds, which the OS determines by detecting the presence of a Bluetooth-paired phone.

Microsoft Weekly Newsletter

Be your company's Microsoft insider with the help of these Windows and Office tutorials and our experts' analyses of Microsoft's enterprise products.
Delivered Mondays and Wednesdays